High school basketball: No. 1 Wasps drain free throws to beat Juan Diego

DRAPER — McKay Murdock once hit 100 free throws in a row while shooting around with his dad.

On Tuesday night in a much more meaningful situation, Murdock buried 13 straight, which proved invaluable as top-ranked Wasatch overcame a cold-shooting night from the field to knock off Juan Diego 63-52.

Collectively the Wasps made 27-of-29 free throws, including their first 20. The sharp free-throw shooting helped the visitors avoid getting blown out early as they eventually overcame a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter.

"We have a bunch of really good free throw shooters. We have a lot of confidence in our team. We know if we get to the line we're going to make a high percentage," said Wasatch coach Norm Hayter.

Down 41-31 with under three minutes left in the third quarter, Wasatch closed the game on a 32-11 run for its ninth straight victory after dropping the season-opener against Lehi.

Juan Diego, meanwhile, struggled with execution in the fourth quarter as it lost yet another close game to fall to 3-6 this preseason despite shooting 50 percent from the field against the defending 3A champions.

The Soaring Eagle enjoyed the lead for the second and third quarters, but Wasatch never let it get out of hand as Murdock and Co. continually attacked the basket to get to the free throw line.

"This is a team that's been down before, whether last year or this year," said Hayter. "We're mature enough and disciplined enough to know that we have to stay within ourselves and keep doing what we do and do it well and then let everything else take care of itself."

Wasatch leading-scorer Mike Brown in particular struggled, even though he finished with 19 points. Brown only made 4-of-15 field goals, but he contributed in many others ways, including knocking down 6-of-7 free throws.

His dribble penetration late in the third quarter was instrumental in turning the game around. His drive and kick to Gavin Jones led to an easy lay-up with 1:18 remaining as Wasatch cut Juan Diego's lead to 41-36. He did it again in the waning seconds of the quarter, and Murdock capitalized by burying a wide-open 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the gap to 41-39.

Keefer Babbitt put Wasatch ahead 42-41 with a three-point play to start the fourth quarter, a lead the Wasps never relinquished.

"Tonight we were about as cold as we've been, but we have confidence in ourselves and we know eventually they're going to fall if we keep being patient and running our offense," said Murdock.